Friday update

Good weather is forecast for the long weekend. No one has reserved any of the gliders for cross-country as of dinnertime Friday.

Tony had a nice local flight last week, earning about 80 OLC points.

Man of many accomplishments

The latest entry in Tony's long list of accomplishments this summer is his first flight in PM. He did everything right, with the exception of finding lift. Maybe tomorrow he'll stay up.

Weekend Report August 25 - 26

Two days separated by a severe thunderstorm. The prefrontal weather on Saturday was hot and hazy. Even standing around waiting for a tow was diffiult. The students (Eugene, Jason, Peter B) get full credit for showing up and dragging the reluctant instructor out. The thunderstorm that night knocked down trees and took out the electrical power in Post Mills. Fortunately, there was no aircraft damage. We had our first candlelight cookout of the season.

Sunday was cooler and overcast all day. Peter B made his first unassisted flight in the 2-33.

Friday update

The forecast for tomorrow isn't promising. Hot and humid with a good chance of storms at the end of the day. Flight instruction will be available, but it may turn out to be a day better suited for swimming in the lake. Bring your kayak. BYO cookout at Rick's following whatever turns out to be the day's activity.

A cold front (probably a noisy one) will go through Saturday night, and Sunday's weather will be good. As a matter of fact, the forecast for the first half of the week indicates some good flying possibilities. Tows will be available.

Weekend Report August 17 - 19

The weekday slackers struck again. Tony and Rick took off for parts unknown on Friday. The 1-23 and Silent chased clouds downwind to Franconia without too much trouble, but getting home was a different story. Tony got low on the way to Mt. Moosilauke and wound up landing at Dean. Rick didn't make it either, having to resort to the iron thermal for the last mile back to Post Mills. While awaiting his aeroretrieve, Tony spent some time with Everett Rowley, one of the Dean airport commissioners. Everett is 89 and had some good stories about flying Ford Trimotors. When it came time to leave, our new friend volunteered to run Tony's wing. He did a great job on his artificial knees, wingtip in one hand, cane in the other. With an attitude like that, he'll probably outlive us all. Tony's flight is published here.

I'm not sure what happened at Post Mills on Saturday. Not much, I think. I was at Lebanon for Airport Awareness Day. Other club members in attendance were Sonny, Gregg, Jason, and Charlie Z.

We had about a dozen flights on Sunday. In addition to Tony's flight test (see previous post), flights were logged by Skip, Rich, Mike, Thomas, and Jason. Peter Betts helped out all day, but did not get a chance to fly. We need more towpilots!

Private Pilot

The roster of student pilots was diminished by one yesterday. Tony Moehrke passed his flight test, adding the glider rating to his Private Pilot certificate. Our FAA examiner, Bill Stinson, showed up at around 10am, talked things over for about an hour, then accompanied Tony for three flights in the Blanik. The result was a new ticket (not really a surprise), and an ovation from club members on the field. Tony celebrated by taking family members for rides for the rest of the day.

Not to detract from Tony's accomplishment, but the best part of the day for me was the deer-in-the-headlights moment when Bill turned to Sonny and told him that he was next.

Thursday update

1. FLYING
We expect the towplane to be returned to service today. It might be a good idea to call to see if we're flying on Saturday, just in case.

2. AIRPORT AWARENESS DAY AT LEBANON
We will have at least one glider on display Saturday morning as part of the open house event at Lebanon Airport. Contact Sonny if you want to participate.

3. RADIO CLASS
The ground school class, originally planned for Sunday morning, has been called off due to a scheduling conflict. Click here to discuss rescheduling.

4. WEATHER
Looks good both days, with possible overdevelopment in the afternoons. It will be cooler than average.

Website updates

The PMSC members only website has been updated to include a link to this blog as well as a few other minor updates.

Note that all members are encouraged to update information on the web by collecting and revising those documents and then sending to me, and I will do the actual upload.

Thanks and feedback is welcome.

Carb update

I've been consuming too many.

The L-19 carb has been reinstalled, all the assorted fittings that we could find in the dark reattached. It just needs a looking over and the cowls installed. A big thanks to Bob, Rick, and Andy for flying information and the carb back and forth between Post Mills and Montpelier. Also thanks to those who sacrificed domestic credits on Sunday to hang around and take apart the L-19. And thanks to Andy, Ryan, Andrew and Andy for helping put it back together.

Radio Ground School - Postponed

Due to scheduling conflicts, the ground school class originally scheduled for this weekend has been postponed until further notice.

Weekend Report August 11 - 12

It was a good news/bad news weekend.

We had a good flying day on Saturday with useable lift to 4400 feet. Tony had a long flight in 3J, but his flight recorder failed (battery disconnected). At the end of the day he made two more flights in the Blanik in preparation for his flight test. Skip flew PM. Pete and Thomas seemed to enjoy standing around all day.

During the preflight inspection of the towplane Sunday morning, Bob D noticed fuel dripping out of the carburetor. Flying was cancelled. The carburetor is now in the shop in Montpelier, and we are hoping for a quick repair. Stay tuned.

And back to some good news: we have a new member. Jason Cohen joined the club as our newest Youth Member, just in time to witness the grounding of the towplane. Welcome, Jason!

Feast

If your name is not on this list:

Alex, Amy, Andrew, Andy, Andy, Bob, Carol, Christina, Deb, Debbie, Ella, Emma, Hans, Jane, Janet, Jenny, Jill, Judy, Karl, Kevin, Lynne, Marsha, Mary, Mike, Nathan, Olivia, Paul, Pete, Peter, Peter, Petey, Rich, Rick, Sue, Sue, Thomas, Tim, Tom, Tony

you missed the PMSC culinary event of the season. Last night, Judy and Andy put on an after-flying party that surpassed all others and could not have been more enjoyable. The weather was perfect for outdoor dining. Lobsters, steaks and corn-on-the-cob were served (served!) to appreciative diners seated at tables in the front yard. Contributed casseroles, salads, beverages and desserts were to be found indoors. Conversation was lively with topics ranging from flying to fashion.

The evening was topped off with the blueberry pie competition. At first there was some controversy over what constituted a "pie," but that was quickly set aside, and entries were accepted from Marsha, Mary, Rick, Debbie, the Dodds, Andy G, and North the Dog. A further complication arose when the judges realized that it was not physically possible to sample all the pies after that sumptuous dinner. In the end, everyone was declared a winner. There were no protests.

Airport Awareness Day

A week from today, Saturday August 18, is Airport Awareness Day at the Lebanon, NH airport. The Silent will be on static display. If you are interested in bringing more gliders, or in helping out in any way, contact Sonny.

Friday update

It looks like good soaring conditions for both days this weekend, with the difference between Saturday and Sunday too close to call. Pilots interested in XC attempts should contact Rick today. Saturday evening's cookout will be the annual LumRuss lobster feast. If you are planning to come, and have not yet notified Judy, email her today. Side dishes and soft drinks will be provided, otherwise it's BYOB and BYO$. If you happen to have a fresh-baked blueberry pie in your kitchen, be sure to enter it in the contest.

ACE Camp

The 2-33 is at Middlebury, Vermont for a couple of days. On Thursday, it will be used (along with the New England Soaring Association 2-33) to give introductory rides to 35 kids aged 11-14, as a part of this year's ACE Camp. Our glider will be home Thursday night.

Weekend Report August 4 - 5

As seems to be the pattern this year, we had two completely different weather days this weekend. Also, as usual, I got the forecast wrong.

Saturday was a low-turnout day due to the hot weather and instructor shortage. Knowing that it would be a slow day, Doug traveled to Post Mills anyway and made two tows. Pete and Skip were the beneficiaries, with flights of a few hours each. It was hot. The smarter members of the club went kayaking on Lake Fairlee instead of flying.

The weather was cooler and the conditions were weaker on Sunday. Skip and Pete came back for more, but found that it was a struggle to stay in the air. On Tom Cooch's fifth flight ever, he made an unassisted climb of about a thousand feet . Doug towed again, and this time he got a chance to fly the 1-23 at the end of the day. Evan accumulated 134 km in one of those "long local" flights in PM.

There was no cookout this weekend. Perhaps we were saving our socializing for the annual Postflight Lobster and Clam Bake in Lyme on Saturday, August 11. New this year: a blueberry pie bake-off, to be judged by a select committee of glider pilots. I'm not sure if there will be a pie eating contest, but if there is one, count me in. Stay tuned for details.

Friday update

The weather for the weekend will be flyable both days, with Sunday looking a little better than Saturday. Due to an unlucky combination of vacations, work, and injuries, we will not have an instructor for Saturday.

Solo flying only on Saturday, August 4.

Weekday slackers

Tony and Rick had a couple of 4-hour flights on Tuesday, July 31.